NoteThe Intel® compiler with OpenMP* support provides a production support library: and libguide.a (Linux*) and libguide.lib (Windows*). This library enables you to run an application under different execution modes. It is used for normal or performance-critical runs on applications that have already been tuned.
Note
The support library is linked dynamically, regardless of command-line options, to avoid performance issues that are hard to debug.
The compiler with OpenMP enables you to run an application under different execution modes that can be specified at run time. The libraries support the serial, turnaround, and throughput modes. These modes are selected by using the KMP_LIBRARY environment variable at run time.
In a multi-user environment where the load on the parallel machine is not constant or where the job stream is not predictable, it may be better to design and tune for throughput. This minimizes the total time to run multiple jobs simultaneously. In this mode, the worker threads will yield to other threads while waiting for more parallel work.
The throughput mode is designed to make the program aware of its environment (that is, the system load) and to adjust its resource usage to produce efficient execution in a dynamic environment. This mode is the default.
After completing the execution of a parallel region, threads wait for new parallel work to become available. After a certain period of time has elapsed, they stop waiting and sleep. Sleeping allows the threads to be used, until more parallel work becomes available, by non-OpenMP threaded code that may execute between parallel regions, or by other applications. The amount of time to wait before sleeping is set either by the KMP_BLOCKTIME environment variable or by the KMP_SET_BLOCKTIME function. A small KMP_BLOCKTIME value may offer better overall performance if your application contains non-OpenMP threaded code that executes between parallel regions. A larger KMP_BLOCKTIME value may be more appropriate if threads are to be reserved solely for use for OpenMP execution, but may penalize other concurrently-running OpenMP or threaded applications.
In a dedicated (batch or single user) parallel environment where all processors are exclusively allocated to the program for its entire run, it is most important to effectively utilize all of the processors all of the time. The turnaround mode is designed to keep active all of the processors involved in the parallel computation in order to minimize the execution time of a single job. In this mode, the worker threads actively wait for more parallel work, without yielding to other threads.
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Avoid over-allocating system resources. This occurs if either too many threads have been specified, or if too few processors are available at run time. If system resources are over-allocated, this mode will cause poor performance. The throughput mode should be used instead if this occurs.